The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1887-04-02

to the mountains near the city, and l fol-
lowed suit. They feared the incoming
of the tidal wave, viii h would have
been more destructive than the earth
quake itself But it did not come
What became OF the ship CaptainW
''He escaped unhurt, and saved the
globe intact And, as incredible as it
NAV seem, it is nevertheless true that it
was the only pie of glass or china ware
in the city that escaped unbrokon. 1t
was placed in a case, and is still pre-
served in Valparaiso, with a suitable in
scription recording its miraculous escape
from the earthquake.
Earthquakes were Of common occur
renee, but were not always destructive.
They were OF all degrees, from a mere
tremor to terrible shaking-up. But
when they came, great or small, hats
went of and prayers for deliverance
went up. On one occasion with a small
party | made trip into the interior, and
stopped at the city of Mendoza. Here l
met an intelligent old Spaniard who had
read the life and achievements OF Don
Cortes Washington, and he was so de-
lighted with meeting one of his fellow
cOuntrymen that had to stay with him
a week and tell him all about the United
States. One morning bright and early
we set out on our journey, and had pro-
ceeded three or four leagues when we
heard the awful roar of an approaching
quake Our mules set their feet wide
apart, braced themselves, put down their
heads and began to groan. With hats
in hand we leaped to the ground, aud
found it difficult to keep our feet. First
was the horizontal motion back and
forth, and then the vast plain in all d.
rections around us rose and fell like the
waves of the sea, but with no apparent
exteriour assures. The heavy tremors
continued, and we unpacked our mules
and campei where We were. Two
or three hours later frightened
mule-teer dashed past US and shouted:
"Mendoza is destroyed" We mounted
our mules and returned. The scene pre-
scented was an aw III one. The city had
been built for earthquakes and all the
buildings were one-story adobes. There
was not foundation even left. The
streets could be traced, but the houses
themselves were extinguished. The hest
idea can give of it is this: Take an i'm
mense tray and cover it with little heaps
of sand in regular rows, and then give it
sudden shake hori. ontally. The loose
sand is scattered in indistinguishable
lines. That precisely answers the de-
scription of Mendoza as we looked at it
from a swell in the plain.
The effect of these earthquakes on
birds and animals was as marked as on
human beings. AFFECT terror seized
them all. You would see flock Of barn
yard fowls scratching and dsporting in
the sunshine, the gay plumaged cocks of
the walk strutting about like drum
majors at a drum parade. suddenly the
earth would groan and tremble and
heads and wings would go down and
the gallus birds would move along slowly
or cover down and utter the most pitt
full and doleful cries. The groaning of
the mules and cattle added to the terror
of the scenes. Dogs and cats exhibited
human like terror aud Wild animals and
birds would seem to be suddenly bereft
of their natures. There is nothing
amusing in an earthquake.
A Heavy Weight.
Some thousands of people visited
d. III % In